Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 26, 1994 TAG: 9410260029
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
She has been a Parent-Teacher Association leader for a decade, a booster club worker, a volunteer for school projects and a member of several citizens' committees on school issues in Roanoke County.
Now, she hopes to be one of the winners in the first county School Board election in November.
Moving up to a school board from a PTA leadership role is not without precedent in the Roanoke Valley. In Roanoke, Marsha Ellison was appointed to the School Board by City Council this year.
Ball, 47, was the first candidate to get into the race for the Vinton District - even before incumbent Barbara "Bootie" Chewning said she would not be a candidate.
Ball says her PTA and volunteer work have familiarized her with all levels of schools and the entire school system.
She has spent hundreds of hours selling doughnuts, working in concession stands, reviewing proposed school budgets and going to PTA meetings. She has served on the county's school budget committee for the past two years.
Ball contends that she has more experience and familiarity with county school operations than her opponents, Robert Rouse and Michael Stovall.
A contract specialist for Shenandoah Life Insurance Co., Ball says she has time to serve on the board now that her children are nearly grown. She has two children in college and one at William Byrd High School.
The county has an excellent school system, but it needs to spend more on schools, particularly on building maintenance, she says.
An elected School Board will have more political clout with the Board of Supervisors, which will help reduce bickering between the School Board and the supervisors, Ball believes - but others speculate this could cause a confrontation on some financial issues.
The School Board will not have power of taxation and will be dependent on the supervisors for funds, the same financial arrangement as under the current appointed board.
She supports higher salaries for teachers and other school employees but is not sure the county can afford it now.
As a board member, Ball says, she will give special attention to ensuring that students who do not plan to go to college have marketable skills.
She wants to get rid of the stigma of "vocational education," a proposal that she made before Gov. George Allen's strike force on government reforms came up with the same idea.
"Even with college-bound students, we need to teach them marketable skills so they can get summer jobs,'' she says.
Ball says the school system needs to work closely with businesses to develop a curriculum that will provide the job skills that are needed.
Superintendent Deanna Gordon says the county needs more computers and technology to help students become computer literate. Ball shares Gordon's view and applauds the School Board's decision to include $1 million for technology in a bond sale for several other school projects.
The election of School Board members may be new in the county, but the idea is not new to Ball. She has lived in seven states, and all except Virginia had elected boards.
The campaign for the Vinton District has been waged mostly door-to-door and at football and soccer games, PTA meetings and community club gatherings.
There have been no personal attacks or partisan fights during the campaign. All three candidates are running as independents. The district has 7,652 voters, and Ball hopes to contact many of them by Election Day.
During the campaign, she has found that the need for greater parental involvement in schools is a major concern of voters. Many think that stronger discipline would help improve the learning environment, she says.
Some parents are worried about violence in schools, even though Roanoke County has experienced no major problems with drugs, fights or weapons, she says.
Ball has confidence in Gordon and other top school administrators. She served on the citizens' committee that screened the applications for superintendent.
Keywords:
PROFILE POLITICS
by CNB